"Sadowsky" Metro Express Basses

[Guest]

28 minutes ago, BassAgent said:

The MetroExpress has, AFAIK, always been made in China (as it was introduced by Warwick). The Japan basses were called Metro and more recently MetroLine (which are now being built in Germant). Different production, different bass.

Nope. The MetroExpress was a line made in the same place as the final Japanese line (called Metroline). One or two were still for sale new recently. Sadowsky offered a small number of finishes with apparently the same quality as the Japanese Metro basses. My experience was rather different.

 

Link: https://www.sadowsky.com/sadowsky-instruments/metroexpress/

[CookPassBabtridge]

3 minutes ago, FDC484950 said:

Nope. The MetroExpress was a line made in the same place as the final Japanese line (called Metroline). One or two were still for sale new recently. Sadowsky offered a small number of finishes with apparently the same quality as the Japanese Metro basses. My experience was rather different.

 

Link: https://www.sadowsky.com/sadowsky-instruments/metroexpress/

Indeed, they were briefly made in Japan initially as a slightly more affordable version of the Metro, but I believe issues around production were one of the reasons Roger moved things over to Warwick.

 

Guitar Guitar still have a couple of the Japanese MetroExpresses available: https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/180206322265007--sadowsky-metroexpress-japan-rv4-black 

[BassAgent]

20 minutes ago, FDC484950 said:

Nope. The MetroExpress was a line made in the same place as the final Japanese line (called Metroline). One or two were still for sale new recently. Sadowsky offered a small number of finishes with apparently the same quality as the Japanese Metro basses. My experience was rather different.

 

Link: https://www.sadowsky.com/sadowsky-instruments/metroexpress/

I stand corrected.

[thodrik]

2 hours ago, CookPassBabtridge said:

Indeed, they were briefly made in Japan initially as a slightly more affordable version of the Metro, but I believe issues around production were one of the reasons Roger moved things over to Warwick.

 

Guitar Guitar still have a couple of the Japanese MetroExpresses available: https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/180206322265007--sadowsky-metroexpress-japan-rv4-black 

I tried one in the Glasgow shop. Really nice fit and finish, however the volume pot worked the wrong way round, which was something that definitely would not have happened with a Japanese full fat Metro of the time. 

Edited September 26, 2021 by thodrik
Missed ‘way’ from ‘wrong way round’

[LukeFRC]

1 hour ago, thodrik said:

I tried one in the Glasgow shop. Really nice fit and finish, however the volume pot worked the wrong round, which was something that definitely would not have happened with a Japanese full fat Metro of the time. 

EVERY Sadowsky does this. NYC metroline metro metro express and so on….

[thodrik]

9 minutes ago, LukeFRC said:

EVERY Sadowsky does this. NYC metroline metro metro express and so on….

I think you are talking about the pickup blend pot. I was talking about the volume pot.

 

For reference I have an NYC and Metro. In the Metro Express the volume pot worked the other way round from the two I have. So unless the Metro Expresses were specifically designed to have the volume pot going the other way then it was an error in the production process. 
 

Fit and finish was really good though.

[LukeFRC]

2 hours ago, thodrik said:

I think you are talking about the pickup blend pot. I was talking about the volume pot.

 

For reference I have an NYC and Metro. In the Metro Express the volume pot worked the other way round from the two I have. So unless the Metro Expresses were specifically designed to have the volume pot going the other way then it was an error in the production process. 
 

Fit and finish was really good though.

Ahh my mistake for reading it wrong! 

[chris_b]

 

 

3 hours ago, thodrik said:

. . . .  however the volume pot worked the wrong way round. . . .

 

It's part of a fiendish Chinese plot to get bass players to turn down!!

[CookPassBabtridge]

15 hours ago, thodrik said:

I tried one in the Glasgow shop. Really nice fit and finish, however the volume pot worked the wrong way round, which was something that definitely would not have happened with a Japanese full fat Metro of the time. 

That’s a shame, you’d think that they’d be subject to the same QC as the ‘full’ Metros having come from the same workshop. I’d assumed that they reason for the price difference was the more limited options list. 
 

Curious now as to whether those Japanese MetroExpresses were any good - I considered getting one but opted for one of the new German-made Metros. Which I’m very happy with incidentally (apart from the rather mid-scooped noiseless pickups, which I should probably replace with single coils). @FDC484950 how did you find the Japanese MetroExpress you tried?

[thodrik]

7 minutes ago, CookPassBabtridge said:

That’s a shame, you’d think that they’d be subject to the same QC as the ‘full’ Metros having come from the same workshop. I’d assumed that they reason for the price difference was the more limited options list. 
 

Curious now as to whether those Japanese MetroExpresses were any good - I considered getting one but opted for one of the new German-made Metros. Which I’m very happy with incidentally (apart from the rather mid-scooped noiseless pickups, which I should probably replace with single coils). @FDC484950 how did you find the Japanese MetroExpress you tried?

Well, in terms of the fit and finish and generally level of the fretwork, the Japanese MetroExpress was pretty much on par with my Metro. It was just the volume knob that was the issue, though that should not be an issue on a £1600 bass. 

 

I also don't think that the Metroexpress line were done in the same workshop by the same people as the original Metro line. It was designed to be a factory 'production line' bass to be manufactured in far greater numbers than the original Metros, but I don't think many actually got made because of various issues in terms of actually getting the basses produced. From playing one however, I would probably opt for a German Metro or a Sandberg at that price point.  

[Guest]

13 minutes ago, CookPassBabtridge said:

That’s a shame, you’d think that they’d be subject to the same QC as the ‘full’ Metros having come from the same workshop. I’d assumed that they reason for the price difference was the more limited options list. 
 

Curious now as to whether those Japanese MetroExpresses were any good - I considered getting one but opted for one of the new German-made Metros. Which I’m very happy with incidentally (apart from the rather mid-scooped noiseless pickups, which I should probably replace with single coils). @FDC484950 how did you find the Japanese MetroExpress you tried?

It wasn’t bad. General fit and finish was good, playability excellent and electronics generally up to Sadowsky standards. However it suffered from 3 issues; push pull pot for preamp bypass was OK but the bottom pot (passive tone IIRC) was non-functional. B string was significantly quieter than the other strings on any setting, even when adjusting the string and bridge (setup was otherwise fine), and finally, whilst it was light it had horrendous neck dive, even with lightweight tuners (although it’s partly the jazz bass shape and worse seated than standing). In the end GG offered a repair but I decided to get a refund. In comparison the Sire V7 I bought, although showing signs of being more cheaply built, sounded and felt way better at just over 25% of the price.

[CookPassBabtridge]

Thanks for your insights @thodrik and @FDC484950, that’s interesting. The German Metros are certainly very good quality (I can vouch for that) and it sounds as though the Far-East MetroExpress QC issues may have been largely sorted, so hopefully both models present good options at their price points now.

[NicoMcJ]

Oops

Edited September 27, 2021 by NicoMcJ
Repeated what someone else already said

[lonestar]

23 hours ago, thodrik said:

I tried one in the Glasgow shop. Really nice fit and finish, however the volume pot worked the wrong way round, which was something that definitely would not have happened with a Japanese full fat Metro of the time. 

Funny that. the one in Glasgow that I tried back in August was noisy and the guy there said that they were still all like that. He’d said that they’d sent all the first batch back because they were crap and his was a new one. The one I finally bought from Thomann a couple of weeks ago however was absolutely fine.

[JD1]

As I’ve said earlier in the thread I got one of the later / last Japan Metro Expresses. Guitar Guitar may have a few left. Fit and finish top drawer. Plays like butter and only needed a minimal setup out the box. And sounds like a Sadowsky should. Love it.

[thodrik]

1 hour ago, lonestar said:

Funny that. the one in Glasgow that I tried back in August was noisy and the guy there said that they were still all like that. He’d said that they’d sent all the first batch back because they were crap and his was a new one. The one I finally bought from Thomann a couple of weeks ago however was absolutely fine.

I only tried an ‘original’ Japanese MetroExpress one. I didn’t try any of the newer Warwick made MetroExpress ones that come in at a much lower price. I have heard though that the new versions of that are much better than the initial production run.

[ead]

Well, I've taken the plunge and picked up a fretless version.  I think it's probably third production run (it has a Just A Nut 3 fitted) and many of the issues I've read about are absent.

 

First impressions are that it's well put together, no obvious issues I've found so far other than the preamp being extremely feisty.  I've not seen a trim pot that I can tweak yet but haven't exhaustively poked around.  In passive mode it's a nice bass though.  It came with nickel round wounds that have made way for some preloved (worn in) JF344s.

 

[Supernaut]

I tried the Metro Express basses in BD the other week. Not good IMO. 

[Machines]

30 minutes ago, Supernaut said:

I tried the Metro Express basses in BD the other week. Not good IMO. 

 

Me too. I found the fret ends sharp, EQ overpowering and generally underwhelming. 

[BassAgent]

It's so strange how people either really really really like or really really dislike the MetroExpresses. I took mine to a rehearsal today and was impressed yet again.

[chris_b]

3 hours ago, BassAgent said:

It's so strange how people either really really really like or really really dislike the MetroExpresses. I took mine to a rehearsal today and was impressed yet again.

 

What does yours weigh? I heard they were coming heavier than the initial projections.

[ead]

Mine is 3.6kgs (8lbs) so very heli-portable.

[BassAgent]

6 hours ago, chris_b said:

 

What does yours weigh? I heard they were coming heavier than the initial projections.

I don't have scales so I don't know exactly but both my MetroExpresses are insanely light. 3.5 kgs or less.

[lonestar]

On 08/12/2021 at 08:02, BassAgent said:

I don't have scales so I don't know exactly but both my MetroExpresses are insanely light. 3.5 kgs or less.

Mine weighs less than my US Jazz and feels very light. No noise issues, although 

it required a bit of setting up and I did file a few fret ends higher up the neck. Having played a few gigs and rehearsals now it’s my go to bass; I love it.

Your review on here @BassAgent helped me make the decision to buy one after my initial reluctance based on the negative reviews of the early batch elsewhere. Thanks!

Edited December 12, 2021 by lonestar

[funkle]

I tried one of these out in Guitar Gutar in Edinburgh. The PJ version. So much to love about it.

It was lightweight. It sounded great. The neck profile was perfect. I realised morado was a superb sounding fretboard wood. It balanced well on the lap. The hardware felt premium.

The negatives were noticeable for me though. The headstock logo is reprehensible. That poorly designed set of logos has no business on that headstock, looks like it was drawn by a primary school student.

The hum out of the rear pickup was bad in the shop, and would really annoy me in the studio. Live, possibly manageable. I would have to cough up for the bridge humbucker, which should really come standard on a PJ. 

The lack of the VTC was not a deal breaker, but if it’s a Sadowsky, well, it’s part of the sound of a Sadowsky, so, it was a bit of a miss there. Would not have been a lot extra to add that, and it’s annoying to have to source that and retro fit it.

For my purposes it would need a few hundred more of upgrades. And I’d probably avoid it anyway because of the headstock. It’s just awful. I’d maybe think about getting one secondhand, if I could do something about the decal on the headstock, but I would not buy new. 
 

It has sparked my interest in the next line up though - the German-made MetroLine fixes the niggles I would have with these instruments. I might look for a PJ MetroLine secondhand. 

Edited December 12, 2021 by funkle